November 18, 2012
Wednesday, November 18, 2011
Friday, November 18
8:30 AM – 12 Noon Public Meeting
1 PM – 3 PM Closed Session
Duane Morris LLP
One Market Plaza, Spear Tower, Suite 2200, International Room
San Francisco, CA 94105-1127
Members Present Staff Present
President Kay Gulbengay Executive Director
Vice President
Commissioner Alicia Gamez Grants Administrator Carol Sacco
Commissioner
Commissioner Nancy Kirshner-
Rodriguez
Commissioner Andrea Shorter
Commissioner Stephanie Simmons
Members of the Public: Stephanie Block, Robin Brasso, Kathy Johnson, Beverly Upton, Jane Bernard Powers, Staci Martin, Mike Wong (Facilitator).
I. Welcome
President Gulbengay welcomed everyone present and thanked everyone for attending.
II. CALL TO ORDER/ AGENDA CHANGES
President Gulbengay called the meeting to order at 8:40 am.
m/s/c (Soo/Simmons/Unanimous)
No public comment.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
President Gulbengay asked Commissioners to review the minutes from October 28, 2011. Commissioner Soo requested that Keenia Williams be honored for her heroism at the scene of a traffic accident at the January Commission meeting.
Action: Approve minutes from October 28, 2011.
m/s/c (Soo/Simmons/Unanimous)
No public comment.
IV. Ice Breaker – Introductions
Facilitator Mike Wong asked everyone to break into small groups and share introduce themselves to someone they did not know and share a few interesting facts and then introduce each other to the larger group.
V. Update from the Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women
Board member Barbara Mark reviewed the current Board which includes:
· Marily Mondejar, President Filipina Women’s Network
· Peg McAllister, Lee Hecht Harrison
· Diana Reyes Baughman, Chevron
· Patricia Bovan, Attorney & Director, Global Contracts, Symantec Corporation
· Shinta Lim, Vice President, Mass Mutual
· Barbara Mark, Ph.D., CEO and Founder, Full Circle Institute, Immediate-Past President NAWBO-SFBA
· Esther Colwill, Principal, Deloitte Consulting
· Lenore McDonald, Development Professional
· Cathy Campbell, Director of Diversity & Inclusion Strategy Charles Schwab & Company, Inc.
Ms. Mark provided a financial report for 2011, a report on the 2011 achievements, and a brief review of the 2012 strategic plan. Ms. Mark reported that the Friends would like to institutionalize the CEDAW Awards Luncheon, which will be held on September 24, 2012, revive the Women in Leadership Luncheon, continue the Women’s History Month Celebration, and engage the city to a greater extent. The Friends look forward to continuing to work closely with the Department and Commission in 2012. Commissioners thanked Ms. Mark for her service
VI. CONSENT AGENDA
All matters listed hereunder constitute a Consent Agenda and are considered to be routine by the Commission on the Status of Women. They will be acted upon by a single roll call vote of the Commission. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Commission so requests, in which event the matter shall be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered as a separate item. Members of the public may speak on each item listed on the Consent Agenda.
A. Approval of the 2012 COSW Meeting Schedule
B. Resolution Marking International Day to End Violence Against Women
Commissioners reviewed the 2012 meeting schedule and requested a new date for the month of November as many had a conflict. The 2012 meeting schedule would be approved at the January Commission meeting.
Action: To approve the amended Consent Agenda.
m/s/c (Simmons/Kirshner-Rodriguez/Unanimous)
No public comment.
VII. Review of Goals for the Day
Mike Wong reviewed the guidelines and expectations for the day.
VIII. Session I: Review of Strategic Plan
A. GOAL: Create gender equality in the City and
Ann Lehman, Policy Director, explained that the CEDAW human rights framework is a holistic approach to the prevention of discrimination and the promotion of effective services, programs, employment and budget allocation for all. The framework promotes strategic planning, thinking, and evaluation and highlights best practices and areas in need of improvement in a pro-active, cultural/gender sensitive manner. The goal is to create gender equality in the City and
· Take the GEP assessment.
· List gender disaggregated data.
· Provide budgeting data disaggregated by the demographics of clients served..
The Department hopes to develop a City & County certification process. Commissioners suggested following up with the Departments where we have conducted Gender Analysis to see how far they have come.
B. GOAL: Create gender equality in
Ms. Lehman reported that the Gender Equality Principles Initiative (GEP) is a revolutionary project to help businesses around the world achieve greater gender equality and build more productive workplaces. Ms. Lehman reported on the 2010-2011 accomplishments which include:
- Launching "Beta" mode of the GEP website a year ago with over 300 folks at launch including Barbara Krumsiek, President and CEO, Calvert Group, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Former First Lady of San Francisco, and many GEP participants.
- Formed an advisory group including members from Deloitte, Symantec, McKesson, Google, Catalyst, CEDAW lawyer, Levi’s, Recology, SF Chamber of Commerce, and others.
- Received feedback on Beta website as too long and complicated. Based on the feedback, we met with GEP Advisory Group partners, Calvert, and Verite, Together with input from the new UN Women, we agreed to do a major overhaul from 450 indicators to under 150. We are completing a major revision based on this feedback to shorten the assessment and make it more user friendly.
- Worked with the Northeastern University School of Law students to create a major legal analysis of the GEP, “Advancing Implementation and Measurement of the Gender Equality Principles: Legal Guide and Assessment Indicators.” The report outlines
U.S.
- Consulted with the State Government of
Victoria (Australia
- Presented the GEP to the city and community leaders in
Eugene ,Oregon - Presented at the UN Global Compact Women’s Empowerment Principles conference in March.
- Held a GEP Roundtable on Marketing and Supply Chains was help in April 2011 (20 organizations), sponsored by Google.
- In June presented on the GEP to 100 International Women, sponsored by U.S. State Department.
- In September, worked with SF Bay Area Council and the State Department to help ensure the success of the first ever Women's Economic Summit hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton here in
San Francisco - Hosted a GEP roundtable meeting with White House Council on Women and Girls that enabled Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama Valerie Jarrett and Tina Tchen, Chief of Staff to the First Lady Michelle Obama, and other officials were able to experience a GEP roundtable first hand.
- Sponsored a reception for APEC women focusing on GEP marketing by showing former First Lady of San Francisco Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s film "Miss Representation." Also met with Newsom’s staff to discuss doing joint advocacy around the GEP.
- Gave an interview on KQED News during the Women’s Economic
Summit - Talked to UN Women/Social Accountability International about the possibility of creating a certification/seal process, UN Gender Equality Seal (GES) as an auditable standard.
Goals for 2012 include:
· Add a fun "quiz" to entice companies to use the GEP assessment.
- Document best practices regarding using the assessment. Gathering as many high level people in the room at once increases the learning across departments and regions about how the company is doing vis-à-vis women’s equality. Even companies that are now known for being "women friendly" had areas of weakness and something to learn.
- Discuss working with the New York City Women’s Agenda to launch a GEP Initiative in March 2012.
- Redesign website that will increase usability to launch in February 2012.
- Plan our first 2012 roundtable for January 6 to focus on Californian new Trafficking and Transparency law that goes into effect January 1, 2012.
- Recruit 20 total companies to take the assessment by June 2013.
- Measure the impact of the GEP assessment.
- Publish 2 articles on the GEP by June 2013
Commissioners discussed setting a goal to develop legislation mandating that all city vendors take the assessment before they are able to do business with the City. In order to do this, and to get additional support for CEDAW, Commissioners suggested reaching out to other women commissioners and Department heads.
C. GOAL: Promote women’s leadership opportunities in
Dr. Murase reported that the Department partnered with 311 to develop a website/database promotes opportunities for members of the public to participate in, and serve on city boards, commissions, task forces, and committees. The database allows people to learn more about a policy body's membership and general information. The Department will be conducting the biannual report on the gender analysis of Board and Commissions and will report to the Commission at an upcoming meeting.
D. Other Goals:
1. 5th World Conference on Women
2. Girls
3. Health
Dr. Murase reported that the 5th World Conference on Women Steering Committee continues to meet on a monthly basis. The Steering has made outreach at a variety of events and has received much support from community organizations and key community members. Despite loss of staffing for girls and health issues, Dr. Murase expressed hope that more can be achieved in these areas in the coming year.
IX. Session II: Review of Strategic Plan
D. GOAL: Create a comprehensive safety net for women survivors of violence through the administration of the Violence Against Women Prevention and Intervention (VAW) Grants Program.
Grants Administrator Carol Sacco provided an update on the Violence Against Women Prevention and Intervention (VAW) Programs. In FY10-11 the Department distributed grants totaling $2,743,550 to 34 programs that provided services in 6 core areas: Crisis Lines, Intervention & Advocacy, Legal Services, Prevention & Education, Emergency Services, and Transitional Housing. Ms. Sacco reviewed the accomplishments for FY10-11 by gender, race, and age. The Department will continue to support and monitor Partner Agencies in the Citywide Non-Profit Fiscal and Compliance Monitoring Task Force, and will organize the annual Partner Agency Conference, continue to provide technical assistance, analyze quarterly report data, and develop Programmatic Monitoring Guidelines.
E. GOAL: Create a seamless criminal justice response to domestic violence.
Dr. Murase reported that the Justice and Courage Oversight Panel continues to meet and make progress. This last year some of the most significant accomplishments included:
· New Police Codes for elder abuse and child abuse
· New elder abuse inspectors who are available 24 hours a day 7 days of the week
· Securing a dedicated space for the Special Victims Unit (5th Floor of the Hall of Justice)
· Completed the Secure Communities Report.
The oversight panel continues to work on:
· Providing safe housing for DV Victims
· Implementing JUSTIS
· Ensuring the quality of Batterer’s Intervention Programs
· Conducting Department Head meetings.
· Meeting on a quarterly basis.
F. GOAL: Coordinate community-based and City-wide family violence prevention and intervention efforts in
Dr. Murase reported that the Family Violence Council continues to meet quarterly with very high attendance by community-based organizations and city departments. In the last year, the following accomplishments were made:
· 2010 Report on Family Violence in
· A pilot child abuse intervention program is being developed
· The city budget for direct services was by and large been protected from deleterious reductions.
In 2012 the Council will:
· Conduct a public outreach campaign
· Update the 2010 Report on Family Violence
· Continue to meet on a quarterly basis.
Commissioners suggested cross training all stakeholders that come in contact with victims of violence and train them together. Commissioners also recommended using other women’s organization to share the work that we are doing and bring in a new set of players to the table. Dr. Murase was pleased to say that San Francisco Family Violence Council is the leading City and County bringing together stakeholders in child abuse, elder abuse and domestic violence.
GOAL: End the trafficking of women into
Together with the Human Rights Commission, the Department continues to be the lead city agency in the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking (SFCAHT). SFCAHT is committed to ending human trafficking through collaboration, education, outreach, advocacy, and supporting survivors of human trafficking by taking a zero tolerance stance on exploitation, violence, and human trafficking. SFCAHT will hold a public awareness campaign in January, and has announced the inaugural poster contest theme, “From Bystander to Upstander: Taking Action Against Abuse.” Organizers hope to have the participation of the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, and local appointed officials at the Human Trafficking Awareness Day event in January.
H. GOAL: Carry out all essential internal operations necessary to ensure smooth operation of the Department and Commission.
Dr. Murase reported that the goals of the Department include:
· Increase staffing through interns and volunteers
· Expand grant writing
· Implement a social media strategy
· Expand referral service to Spanish and Chinese speakers.
I. GOAL: Provide high quality customer service to individual constituents, community and government agencies, and all others accessing Department services.
Cynthia Vasquez reported that the Department continues to provide quality referrals to clients and members of the public to community and government agencies.
X. Session III: Commission Leadership on Issues/Assignments
Commissioners and members of the public participated in a networking exercise.
ACTION: To approve an extension of the current strategic plan.
m/s/c Soo/Gulbengay/Unanimous
Dr. Murase reviewed the current Commissioner assignments:
Kay Gulbengay, President Friends Liaison
Gender Equality Principles Initiative
Julie Soo, Vice President Health
Alicia Gamez Gender Equality Principles Initiative
Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez Human Trafficking
5WCW
Becca Prowda Violence Against Women Prevention and Intervention Programs
Andrea Shorter Justice and Courage Oversight Panel (Chair)
Stephanie Simmons Family Violence Council
Mr. Wong conducted a brainstorming session to name key partnerships or networks with the Commission that should continue to explored and utilize:
· Law Enforcement
· Elected Officials
· Bars & Trade Associations
· Gender Equality Initiative Partners
· Friends of the Commission
· Unified
· Scholars
· Civil Rights Organizations
· Women’s Organizations
· Community Groups
· Funders and Donors
· Survivor Groups
· Media Outlets
· International groups – UN, Consulate Core
XI. Wrap Up
Commissioners provided feedback on what they felt went well during the retreat which included:
· Focused time for discussion
· Were able to find out more information on fellow Commissioners, staff, and members of the community
· Collegiality
· Meeting new community partners
· Staff roles and reports
· Interaction between community members and Commissioners.
Areas for future development:
· More time, possibly hold 2 half day retreats
· Encouraged more public participation
· Clarification on advocacy roles of Commissioners
· More input on agenda from Commissioners.
XI. PUBLIC COMMENT
Beverly Upton, Executive Director of the Domestic Violence Consortium, thanked Commissioners for welcoming community members and recognized everyone for their participation in this enriching conversation.
XII. CLOSED SESSION
1. Public comment on all matters pertaining to the Closed Session.
2. Closed Session pursuant to Government Code Section 54957(b) and San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.10(b):
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: Executive Director, Emily Murase.
3. Open Session
Action: Motion not to publicly disclose any or all of the information discussed in the closed session under
m/s/c (Simmons/Soo/Unanimous)
XIII. Closing Remarks
Dr. Murase acknowledged Department staff whose dedicated efforts contributed to the day’s productive activities. Action: Adjourn Meeting.
m/s/c (Gulbengay/Soo/Unanimous)
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